Seat-support.



R. G. STEWART.

SEAT SUPPORT.

APPLICATION FILED 001222, 1909.

Patented .Apr. 19, 1910.

ANDREW a GRAHAM co F1T0-LH'NE)GRAPNERS.WASHINGTON 0,0

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD C. STEWART, OF COVINGTON, KENTUCKY.

SEAT-SUPPORT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 19, 1910.

Application filed. october 22, 1909. Serial No. 524,003.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD O. STEWART, a citizen of the United States, and residing at Covington, Kenton county, State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Seat-Supports; and I do declare the following to be a clear, full, and exact description thereof, attention being called to the accompanying drawing, with the reference characters marked thereon, which forms also a part of this specification.

This invention relates to means for sup porting a seat, as for instance the seat of a chair, stool, bench or settee so as to permit said seat to be rocked by the occupant, the manner of use being one analogous to that of using a rocking-chair.

In the following specification and particularly pointed out in the claims at the end thereof, will be found a full description of my invention, together with its manner of use, parts and construction all of which is also illustrated in the accompanying drawing which shows my invention used in connection with a bench or settee.

Figure 1, of the drawing shows such a furniture in end-view. Fig. 2, shows in a similar view extreme positions which the seat may assume while being rocked, one position being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 3, is a front-view of the settee. Fig. 4:, in an enlarged sectional detail-view illustrates a certain part of the construction which will be referred to more fully hereinafter.

The seat A may be constructed in any suitable manner, as for instance by a num ber of slats a spaced parallel to each other and held in seat-forming position by means of two or more sills B. In case of a chair one such sillunder each end of the assembled slats is suflicient. In case of a bench or settee, it may be necessary to add one or more intermediate sills, according to the length of the slats which determines the width of the seat. Note Fig. 3. The back 0, if one is used in connection with this furniture, may also be formed in any suitable manner. In the case shown, the most preferable manner of constructing such a back is by extending sills B upwardly and by adding slats sufiicient for the purpose, the sills being shaped accordingly to produce the desired relative formation as regards seat and back.

The means for supporting the seat and which form the subject of this invention con sist of legs D, a floor-base of which they form a part and other accessory parts to be presently described. In a very small seat, such as for instance would be required for a stool, one leg might be sufiicient. In av chair, two are preferably used, one under each end of the seat, likewise in a bench or settee, unless they are of unusual length. Connection of the legs is effected to the underside of the seat, unless the material or construction of this latter is such as to prevent a substantial attachment, in which event an intermediate member is interposed. In the present case sills B constitute such an intermediate member and accordingly connection is made to them.

A resting base for the legs sufficiently broad for the purpose to resist tipping is provided by two braces a?cl connected to the opp osite'flat sides of each leg from which they extend in opposite directions and above the lower end thereof as shown, being at the same time curved downwardly to effect at their ends engagement with the floor. These braces are held in proper relative position by a tie-band E, which in connection with them constitutes the base for the legs in form of a rigid truss-frame. This tie between its ends is shaped to form a socket e in which the lower end of the legs is seated and immovably held thereby.

The connection at the upper end of each leg to the underside of the seat is by means of a saddle-frame F, the horizontal part of which is connected to the underside of the seat. In the present case this connection is to the underside of the sills as before alluded to. The connection of the upper end of each leg to this frame is a rigid one, as for instance by two spaced lugs 55, which between them receive this upper end, the connection being completed by means of a bolt 6.

Legs D-D, as shown are made of flat bars of limited thickness, the material being steel which imparts elasticity to permit the seat to be rocked by the occupant as indicated in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2. This act is made easy for the occupant by two striker-arms 77 which form parts of frame F and are arranged so as to terminate with their free ends opposite the flat sides of legs I), one on each side of each leg, but spaced therefrom. The function of these members is best illustrated in Fig. 2. When swinging into extreme position in one direction,

the free end of the arm on that particular side and the side of the leg opposite this end, come in contact with each other, whereby further movement in the same direction and beyond desirable limits is gently checked. At the same time the resistance to this movement, produced by this contact between the ends of the elastic leg, causes this latter to re-bound, thereby inducing a rocking move ment in opposite direction which renders the rocking of such a seat very easy. Finally this contact causes the elastic bar to bend between its ends instead of at or near these latter, thus diverting the strain from places where the strength of the bar is reduced by reason of the presence of rivet or bolt-holes. The positions shown in Fig. 2, particularly the dotted one, indicate extreme positions which the seat may assume.

The ends of braces d where they connect to the legs are bent away from them and turned slightly outwardly as best shown in Figs. 1 and to prevent interference with the vibrations of the legs. The strain on the connection of these braces to the legs is eased by the insertion of the lower ends of these latter in sockets e of the tie-band.

In furniture in which the seats are quite wide, as for instance in the case shown, it is desirable to provide for lateral bracing of the legs. A preferable arrangement is shown in Fig. 3, where two braces I*IH are applied, one for each leg. They connect atone of their ends to the legs near their lower ends and at their upper ends to the underside of the seat. A convenient manner of making this latter connection is illustrated in Fig. 4, the upper ends of the braces being twisted as shown at h]z, and after lapped are connected to the seat.

The connection of the braces is a detachable one so that after their disconnection, legs D, which are free to turn about bolts 6 may be folded under the seat as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, whereby for packing and shipping, the bulk of the furniture is reduced.

GGr are arm-rests which may or may not be used. They also serve as braces to sustain the position of the back with reference to the seat.

Having described my invention, I claim as new:

1. In means for supporting a seat, a leg made of a straight bar of elastic material, braces connected to it above its lower end and projecting therefrom in opposite direction and curved downwardly to form a floor-base, a tie-band connecting these braces and means for holding the lower end of the leg immovably to this tie-band between the ends thereof.

2. In seat-furniture, the combination of a seat, supporting means for it involving a leg made of a flat bar of elastic material, a floor-base at its lower end whereby it is sustained in upright position, a saddle-frame at its upper end whereby the seat is connected to the leg and striker-arms which form a part of this frame and the ends of which terminate opposite the elastic leg and the vibrations of which they modify as de scribed.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

RICHARD C. STEIVART.

lVitnesses C. SPENGEL, T. LE BLAU. 

